Review: Good Talk by Mira Jacob
I have been having a fantastic reading month! I’ve read many 5 star reads and I am so excited to start the year off with that energy! My latest favorite has to be GOOD TALK by Mira Jacob. It is a memoir told in graphic novel form and it is so.good. It had been on my list for a while and after feeling really on edge due to the insurrection that occured at the US Capitol, I knew it was time to finally read this book.
I don’t regret a moment I spent with it! I read it in one sitting and highly recommend it, especially to parents who have been faced with explaining the last four years of such a hateful administration to their children. As a bonus, there are a lot of New York-y elements that made this city gal very happy.
Synopsis: “"Like many six-year-olds, Mira Jacob’s half-Jewish, half-Indian son, Z, has questions about everything. At first they are innocuous enough, but as tensions from the 2016 election spread from the media into his own family, they become much, much more complicated. Trying to answer him honestly, Mira has to think back to where she’s gotten her own answers: her most formative conversations about race, color, sexuality, and, of course, love.
Written with humor and vulnerability, this deeply relatable graphic memoir is a love letter to the art of conversation—and to the hope that hovers in our most difficult questions.” —From the publisher
What I Liked:
The Format—I love graphic novels and always forget how much I do. The style makes it so accessible and intimate for the reader. You fly through it and it provides this sense of urgency that makes you want to keep flipping the page.
The Questions It Provoked—As someone who lived in the liberal bubble of NYC, I was one of those white people who was “shocked and saddened” by the 2016 election. The last four years have been a huge lesson for me in waking up to the injustices that have been apart of America since it’s foundation. Jacob helped verbalize a lot of the things I’ve been struggling to vocalize for the last four years.
Z—Children keep us honest and accountable. I loved getting to know Z, the world his parents wanted for him, and that his questions and concerns were honestly addressed by his parents. Some parts made me incredibly sad, but it was because it was so real.
What Didn’t Work:
Nothing—Read this book, especially if you’ve experienced strained family relationships in the last four years or you, like me, was one of those shocked white people who just “couldn’t understand” how this happened.
TW/CW: Racism, racial slurs, 9/11, talk of violence, immigration, strained familial relationships, familial gaslighting, colorism
Character Authenticity: N/A (memoir) Steam Rating: N/A Overall Rating: 5/5